SUMMARY
We have now come full circle. Just like Adam and Eve we are, again, confronted by Satan – tempted, but with more than an apple. Distractions on every side, constant information bombardment and confusion – anything and everything to prevent us from the peace of knowing and trusting God. This is not an accident!
Satan told Adam and Eve God lied, but today he says, “There is no God!” Be your own god! And we have not only taken a bite of the apple, we have accepted his whole meal plan! Is it coincidence, or warning, that one of the most popular computer software programs has an icon of an Apple with a bite out of it?
Deceit is not just in the garden, it’s everywhere! We are following Satan’s bidding, hook, line and sinker. How can we be critical of Eve’s sin? It was just an apple. Today’s Apple is a platform, not a fruit, but much more tempting. Our desire for knowledge has become more compelling than our relationship with God or people. It would appear we have abandoned every one of God’s Ten Commandments as well as Jesus’ command: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27 (Which, by the way, is the short version of the original Ten Commandments.
We are currently on the verge of another worldwide judgment, with results similar to the original flood, as God judges each one of us on the merits of our relationship with him, the God of the universe, who ‘stretched out the north over the empty space and hung the earth on nothing.’ His judgment will be final, but not before everyone has an opportunity to follow his way, his truth and his life – the Word of God.
Isaiah 30:8-14
Now go and write down these words. Write them in a book. They will stand until the end of time as a witness that these people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay attention to the Lord’s instructions. This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel: “Because you despise what I tell you and trust instead in oppression and lies, calamity will come upon you suddenly—like a bulging wall that bursts and falls. In an instant it will collapse and come crashing down. You will be smashed like a piece of pottery—shattered so completely that there won’t be a piece big enough to carry coals from a fireplace or a little water from the well.”
“The Lord has shown you what is good; what does he require of you: to be fair, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
Just as God called Noah, God is calling you.
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after its kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creeps upon the earth after its kind: and God saw that it was good.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female created he them.
“And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food: and it was so.
“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the morning and the evening were the sixth day.”
That was a very busy day.
THE SIXTH DAY
According to Biblical record, land animals and man were created on the sixth day. Man did not evolve from a monkey or a cesspool or any other thing. God created man in his own image. Because they were created the sixth day, they were able to walk on the land and eat the herbs and fruit already created on the third day. Again, nothing was created out of turn.
God was not alone. The Spirit, the Word, Jesus the Christ, and Wisdom were all with God in the beginning (Genesis 1 and Proverbs 8). More importantly, he reveals that you were created in this image, therefore, you have inherited their attributes. There are many examples of these images throughout the Bible, such as being creative, a planner, having the ability to discern good from evil, access to dunamis power, holy, organized, faithful, loving, trusting, merciful, gracious, eternal, accountable, steadfast, sincere, committed, empowered to speak life-changing words, passionate, peaceful, orderly, fruitful, forgiving, obedient, giver. You have inherited the right to give yourself an upgrade!
God has not only shown the potential within each one of us, but also mapped out his best plan for us with specificity. We have been given the authority to reflect his image through instructions within his Holy Word.
“We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
The Bible’s blueprint will show you how to establish this strong foundation using God’s toolkit. Essentially, he put prophecy in our hands to either follow his guidelines or create our own. Yes, the ball is in our court.
THE SIXTH THOUSAND YEAR
The Holy Bible and the Jewish Talmud both teach that this world, as we know it, will last for six thousand years, with the 7th thousand year ushering in the Millennium, the Cosmic Shabbat, the Messianic Era. The last 1,000 years on earth, the 7th 1,000-year period, aligns with the 7th Day – Rest.
The 6th thousand-year period as we know it was 1901 to 2000. The Bible records 4,000 years from the creation of Adam and Eve to the time Christ was born and it’s been about 2,000 years since his death. We are now facing the 7,000th year. God spoke in relative terms regarding each of the 1,000-year time periods, but close enough to connect the prophecy of his message. The time to pay attention is upon us more intently than ever before.
This sixth thousand-year period has seen huge, amazing advancements in knowledge: the printing press, electric lights, anesthesia, automobiles, telephones, radio and television, airplanes and computers to name just a few. Technical knowledge has increased more in this period than in any of the prior thousand-year periods and continues to increase exponentially.
The prophet Daniel was allowed a peek into the future, providing some insight into the end times: “But you, O Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end when many shall rush here and there, and knowledge shall increase.” Daniel 12:4
In the book, Critical Path, Buckminster Fuller created the ‘knowledge doubling curve’. He noticed that until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century, but by 1945 it was doubling every 25 years. And by 1982, it was doubling every 12-13 months. Thanks to the internet, we have reached a point where relevant knowledge is increasing faster and in greater quantities than we can absorb, minute by minute.
Our Disconnect
When the increase in knowledge blossomed, man seemed to disconnect from God. Many reasons but mostly, while rushing here and there, keeping up with the Joneses and all the social events, there wasn’t time for God – or maybe there wasn’t the need for God (except when our plans failed and we had no one else to turn to.)
The first 5 of the Ten Commandments teach us how to have a relationship with God; the last 5 teach us how to have relationships with people. Deuteronomy 5.
Why were relationships so important to God that he cut out his instructions in stone – and how does our mainstream lifestyle reflect the fact we trash-traded his guidelines for our busy schedules and social media?
If you backup far enough it’s pretty simple. God wants to be our father, our king. When we have a relationship with God, our Father, he can mentor us like a shepherd: keep us from falling off a cliff, protect us from our enemies, provide for our every need.
One of the most striking examples of the evidence of God’s divine love and passion for us to do good and reflect his image is found in his conversation with Cain when Cain developed an attitude. God gently counseled him, but Cain chose not to follow God’s blueprint advise and ended up getting kicked out of God’s house (Genesis 4:6-7).
Man is the only part of creation given the gift of prayer – the ability to voice requests, seek forgiveness, praise God and build a relationship with him. “Then he said to me, Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day you set your heart to understand, and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I am come for your words.” Daniel 10:12. Daniel had been praying for three weeks, with no results, when an angel appeared to him and explained why it took so long.
Man is also the only part of creation given choice. The advancement of knowledge and technology has been wonderful, while at the same time, the advancement of rebellion and evil deeds has also increased. (Deuteronomy 28 – the list of cursings is much longer than the list of blessings.)
Samuel was the prophet-priest through whom God sent Saul a message when he disobeyed. “Does the Lord have as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to obey God is better than offering the fat of rams. For rebellion is just like witchcraft, and stubbornness is just like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, God has also rejected you from being king.” 1 Samuel 15:22-23
THIS GENERATION
Most of this generation, those that will see Christ return, do not know God or his story, which is really sad. We are not physical beings with a spirit, we are spiritual beings with a body. God does love us, but he has rules, just like all good parents. Lucifer was perfect, until he became corrupted with pride, and then God threw him out of heaven to the ground. Ever since then he has been trying to trick people into following him.
“Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.” Daniel 12:4
“Know this also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; from such turn away. For of this sort are they who are… ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3:1-7
“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns. Surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the Lord, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins.” Jeremiah 4:3-4
GOD’S DESIRE
God’s word, The Holy Bible, is still the best-selling book with over 5,000,000,000 copies as of 2021, Study it, understand the plot, the story line, or the ongoing spiritual battle. Explain it to your children, commit time evey week to peek inside this amazing gift of God’s Word and share it.
“Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:2-3
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
“Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
“But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name.” John 1:12
“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“The price of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
Jesus said, “Father, I want these that you have given me, to be with me where I am that they may behold my glory, which you have given me; for you loved me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24
“I will…. bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, even every one who is called by my name; for I have created him for my glory; I have formed him; yes, I have made him.” Isaiah 43:6-7
“Our God shall come and shall not keep silence; a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous, round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together to me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness; for God is judge himself.” Psalm 50:3-6
“I have made the earth, the man and the beasts that are on the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seems right to me.” Jeremiah 27:5
ETERNITY IS A LONG TIME TO BE WRONG
“He has shown you what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8
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